Lovely Runner (2024)

Dear Future Audience, Doubting the Plot? Trust Me: Writing, Direction and Acting Shine

The plot isn't new, and there's no debate about it, but OMG, the writing is excellent. Each character is written well, evoking a strong sense of the mid-2000s era. No amount of praise is sufficient; every character, regardless of size, is meticulously crafted.

Now, let's discuss the director. What a vision, my friend; the director exhibits remarkable intelligence, understanding precisely what the audience will enjoy. The direction is captivating; there's never a dull moment, showcasing the director's exceptional vision.

The actors, OMG, words fail to express their brilliance in their respective roles, especially our main leads.
The male lead is portrayed exceptionally well, with the character finely etched, this role is a gift for him, and he owns it. He's not just a green flag; he's the brand ambassador of Green Flag.

As for the female lead, there's no doubt she's the perfect choice for the role; her character is tailor-made for her. Kudos to her for embracing this role.

"And she's truly courageous for trusting the lovely runner team, despite many actors rejecting the male lead role in this drama. Yet, she persisted and literally waited 2-3 years to meet Ryu Sun-jae in real life ."

Hats off to the entire production team for their patience amidst the delays and their unwavering confidence in the project. Despite other actors being hesitant to take on the male lead role, they serve as a true inspiration.

Future audience , who want to have doubts because you might think the plot is so average, but my dear, I agree, the plot isn’t fresh, but trust me, the writing is amazing, the direction is super amazing, and the acting is the cherry on top.

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Not worth the hype

Was excited about this drama because I saw the potential in Byeon Woo Seok from Record of Youth days and was anticipating another hit like Start-up. A even-paced drama that shows emotional growth and turmoil, underdogs succeeding in life, complex navigation of relationships, and maybe themes of self-acceptance and gratitude perhaps.

What we get instead is a promise that is never fulfilled. The first episode set us up for excitement and anticipation for a deep dive into the many issues in modern day society that could resonate with so many people, yet the topics are disappointingly, never explored.

1) Let's start with the obvious thing that disappointed, which was the drama showing us a suicide of a well-known celebrity (ML)suffering from depression. You think, oh god, this drama will definitely hit close to home as a nation who has lost a lot of celebrities and whose fans are still in mourning till now. You are eager to see how they will portray the events that led to such a tragic end for such a gentle spirit, how the character develops the illness, and how he might overcome it as well. The intricacies and challenges faced by celebrities who are both loved and hated, and the loneliness of these people who usually hide all the signs, struggling on their own to either come out of the darkness, or get engulfed by it. The scene where ML kindly asks the FL (who we think) is only a stranger at that point, 'Why are you crying, I never made you cry?' followed by his suicide not long after, literally broke my unguarded heart! This was the scene that made me decide on following this unique storyline. But the writers decide against allocating any time to delving into the psyche of such a character, and chooses to focus on a serial killer subplot to drive the story forward instead.

2) FL has a disability and she is shown in a wheelchair, losing a chance to get employed because the building where she applied for the job has no wheelchair access. You think awesome, we're going to see how this character lives day-to-day and get a realistic perspective on the challenges she might face as a disabled person living in such a beauty-discriminating society. However, this also gets thrown out the window once a travel back in time changes her fate. It's as if the wheelchair was just there to satisfy an arbitrary box that needed to be ticked on a 2024 what we need to do to show we are a progressive kdrama of inclusion checklist.

3) We think, because both leads have incredible set-ups as characters faced with a certain level of adversity, that we will be graced with well-written scenes showcasing character growth. No such growth is portrayed.
At this point, the supposed '2nd male lead' fares a bit better in that we at least get hints that he is suffering from lack of attention from his family and we can UNDERSTAND why he would like the FL, unlike the ML's situation.

3)This leads to the 3rd point, which is the incomprehensible attachment that the ML has for the FL. In the face of the 2nd ML, the FL is a little eccentric (high school self) but has moments of maturity, and loves to nag and support him, showing him the care and affection he so desperately yearns from his parents instead. They have more workable chemistry than the ML has with ImSol because we get that he likes her for her and accepts her crazy ways and seemingly bipolar personality, while with the ML we only see that he was mesmerised by her because of the way she ran towards him in the rain with a yellow umbrella...?? Enough to make him move next door to her? The scenes they shared with each other also didn't convince me that he would not date anyone until 30 because he was holding onto the memory of her... Why? What was so special about her that he could not let go? As the audience, we are only sold on why she might have liked him so much (because she still carries the memory of him having thanking her for staying alive, and therefore that became her motivation to live when she was at her lowest point). But what of him? It's 15 years... And they never dated or went through anything exceptionally monumental, so what was the pull?

4th) I feel that the two leads lack chemistry. I like them seperately as individuals, but they are lacklustre together.

5th) Plotholes - FL can change some things, but not others... the inconsistency made it hard to stay immersed in the story

6th) it seemed like all other characters were irrelevant or unimportant to the story so it didnt really feel like a story anymore

The good : The first few episodes were nicely done with good humour borrowing music that I remember from that time to poke fun at over-dramatic scenes that were a feature of those dramas back then.

Byeon Woo Seok is handsome, kind, and softspoken.

Kim Hye Yoon does what the role requires and does her best to not be annoying. She is not preoccupied about how she appears on screen, delivering emotional scenes without the baggage of worrying about whether or not she looks pretty doing it.

You never get the vibe that Kim Hye Soon or ImSol is trying to seduce the ML and that in itself is a big deal bc so many actresses and actors go off tangents and forget that they are there to portray their character properly, not to give us some perfunctory facial expressions as a smokescreen to enjoy cosplaying with their costars or just simply indulging in the design of the character.

But the negatives outweigh the positives and this is nowhere near as satisfying for me as other kdramas ive seen such as Signal and Start-Up. Disappointing because it could have been so good. I think I have outgrown kdramas for now and until Kim Seon Ho returns, I have little interest in trying anymore of these superficially written "hits".

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loving this drama but SML

older FL version goes into past and destroyed Younger FL's first Love
Your FL doesn't love ML or even notice him, Her first Love was always SML which was forced to breakup by older FL
which i find disturbing
adding SML even after they grown up, is dragging a love triangle which doesn't even have any hope for SML
Younger FL feelings were dismissed and neglected by her older self and forced her love on younger version

I have no problem with ML and Fl being together , i got this is light hearted but Love triangle make no sense
there is no need after she broke up with him peacefully
why dragging SML ? because there is no other story then love and a kidnapper is promoted to killer

reduced my ratings from 9.5 to 6.5 after watching ep 12 and 13
this was a good drama and it should have ended withing 10 to max 12 episodes, but for more money they will drama four Hour they don't even have any story for that, they don't even have 2nd lead couple neither they want to give screen time to her brother and besties love story,
ML and FL are good to look at but they are being forced together that is showing on there face
all chemistry vanishes after they finally had a proper kiss, that all there love was One kiss and after that there chemistry just leave the planet..
and drama try to become some confusing time traveling epic but its just a mess, when writers don't have any story they are just filling 4 hour to get some commercials
it stared very well then like every other Kdrama it went downhill from mid of the show....
common thing between most of Kdramas

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Time Travel Rom-Com

Story: The plot was quite interesting initially, with the FL obtaining the ability to time travel back in time to save the ML. The rom-com story plot also have some thriller element, though this thriller element continued for a good portion of the drama (which I am not sure if it should be that relevant). The plot was also too heavily focus on the ML and FL, that I think the supporting characters lacked depth. I also don't think there was too much character growth of the ML and FL overly the episodes.

Acting: Kim Hye Yoon (FL) and the Byeon Woo Seok (ML) did a good job acting as their respective characters. I think Kim Hye Yoon was exceptional in delivering the FL's role, especially with all the crying scenes in the drama.

Music: The OST was great! I personally like the songs from the band, and the was really good.

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Watch this after the drama is finished! if not, the waiting for episodes is hell.

I was a manhwa fan. At first, I was worried how the drama would turn out as the adaption drama story line and manhwa/novel story line are tend to be different. I’m not worried about the actors’ acting tho. They have already proved their acting with their previous works.
But when it aired, I love it! The drama gave more solid reason for Sol being a fan of Seon Jae and tried fo save him.
But I didn’t expect that in drama story line, Seon Jae fall Sol first. It seems that drama and manhwa/novel have only core similarity like time slip and FL tries to save ML.
The chemistry between leads are so superb that I fall in love with this cp.
I give this 10 out of 10.
As I said, because the drama is so good, you should wait for all episodes. I’m here regretting that I watched it as soon as they aired as the waiting for next episode is hell. :’)

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A Green Forest Kdrama

This is undoubtedly my favorite kdrama of all time!

I had started this unexpectedly because the plot was something which is not everyone's cup of tea and I really liked KHY and BWS as actors so gave it a go. And ngl I was seated from 1st ep to the 16th one with rewatching each ep after it aired. It was also surprising to see a drama do well with next to zero promotional activities.

This drama had all tropes like time travel, love at first sight, friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, comedy, bromance and what not. It was hard to bring all these together, but the director and the writer did a fabulous job portray it wonderfully. Even the 3 timelines shown were also beautifully put together. The acting was top notch from everyone and this drama had one of the green flag SML. The OST's are also so good that I listen to it almost everyday.

The chemistry here is one of the best I've ever seen. The way KHY and BWS portrayed sol and sunjae I don't think any other actor could have done it like them. They made me laugh, cry, gave me so many butterflies and made me stuck with them in this joyful ride together. For me they've become the best on screen couples of all time.

This drama had everything in it that captivated the viewers hearts from the beginning. It made my 2 months so wholesome that it'll forever remain in my heart. It'll be hard to get over this masterpiece but till then I'm gonna just rewatch the eps or else I'll miss each monday and tuesday from now on.

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lovely time travel story with good romance

I am glad for people's positive reviews which made me decide to give this drama a try, and having did I understand the reason such a low budget drama is gaining so much popularity.
I loved the whole story including the time travel element, and even though there were minor small gripes that I had with the mechanics of the time slips etc, it stil never ruined anything for me. The backstory to how the miraculous time travel capabilites first come about are never explicitly stated but the viewer is shown hints as to who to thank for it all, which made everything all the more heartfelt and emotional in the end.
The best aspect by far and one that I believe accounts for 100% of the popularity this show is garnering is without a question, the romance. with an endearing love story and marvelous electriflying chemistry, watching and re-wtching their scenes together and the behind-the-scenes, it shows very evidently how the two lead actors had built in real life such great rapport and a strong relationship based on trust and respect, and hopefully even more than that ♡
The acting was very strong by the whole cast especially our OTP who did a marvelous job conveying all ranges of emotions and levels of emotional maturity.
The comedy parts were pretty well done with a lot of laugh-out-loud cringe inducing hilarious parts, thanks in particular to a marvelous set of side characters including the ML's dad, the FL's mom and older brother, the FL's old time crush Tae-Sung and In Hyuk our ML's best friend.
the OST was lovely and despite the fact that first time watching not many tracks managed to particurarly stick with me, later after rewatching parts of it I found myself humming a few tunes even sonagi <3

If there are any negative comments worth mentioning, it would mostly concern the villain and the whole serial murderer arc. I know that the story needed a plot device to push it forward and into the danger and angst zone, but our bad guy was just that, too bad and psycho down to the core, but the story never bothered to show us any sort of background story to flesh him out or show us the motives behind anything he did or his seeminly deeply rooted grudge against Sol & Sun-jae, so he ends up as a 2D caricature of a bad guy, whenever he pops up on screen I am rolling my eyes rather than being on the edge of my seat.
And also there is just too many times that the writer is allowed to use the exact same plot device before it becomes too repitive it essentially is no longer surving its purpose but rather it's cheapening the worth of the whole story. I mean to sum up all troubles our lead couple could ever and will ever face together all in the mere existence of one villain, was too much for me at some points. I understand that if the story was that she was going back in time to save her love after getting hit by random traffic or some other type of accident, it might have had its uncertainties and would have felt like defying fate, and I guess the writers were playing at the concept of destiny involving both good and bad bonds, so people who were meant to cross paths are destined to do for better or for worse, but I couldn't help feeling like I would have appreciated it more if there was more time given to delve deeper into our bad guy's story and psyche so he would not feel like a wack-a-mole puppet popping put every couple of episodes.

Overall despite any minor shortcomings this drama might have, still a marvelous romance, lovable characters and spectacular cast manage to turn it into as perfect a drama as any romcom could ever dream of being.
So even though the objective part of me couldn’t help criticizing certain indiscrepancies about the time slip element which can not be said to be the most original out there to begin with (what with all the other time slip dramas that come out each season), or the annoying villain, Still this drama has managed to steal a spot in my all time favorites thanks to nothing but the main lead's chemistry and swoon-inducing romance. Proof is the fact I immediately went ahead and re-watched all their scenes together. I recommend highly to any Kdrama fan out there.

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surprisingly engaging story in a timeworn genre

I was half expecting a silly high school teen idol story & was half prepared to drop this show. I was only curious to see Byeon Woo Seok again after seeing him in Strong Girl Namsoon & thought I would just check out the 1st episode or two. My goodness what a pleasant surprise this turned out to be. It's along the same level of pleasant surprise as Legally Romance, another story about a woman returning to the past to change her fate. It's actually not a teen story because it's told from an adult perspective.

Kim Hye Yoon plays Im Sol, a 30 y/o woman who travels back 15 yrs in time to try to prevent a trajedy from happening to her first love Ryu Seon Jae, played by BWS. As things don't quite turn out the way she hopes the first time, she figures out a way to travel back & forth for further attemtps to affect different outcomes. In the course of storytelling, I find the more times this happens, the more muddled things get & too many questions arise about just what the heck is going on. Some characters seem to retain memories you wouldn't expect them to if the time travel didn't involve them. Did Sol return to the past at a point before or after she told certain people certain things? I couldn't keep track. Sol also gains new memories from her new timelines, but the editing made it a bit confusing to follow. Finally comes the question of whether fate is strong enough that if things don't happen one day, will it happen on another day, in another way? And wouldn't that apply to all events, including trajedy?

You'd think the theme of going back in time is so worn out; how can it possibly be retold & still be entertaining? The strength of this drama, I realize, is in the skill of weaving in the developing relationship between Sol & Seon Jae. Sol drives the teen relationship with her 30 y/o maturity, & what she doesn't realize is SJ's own maturity which was far beyond her clueless younger self. Equally impressive was the steady & consistent performance of KHY, who could convey so much of Sol's conflict & hesitation without saying a word. I've read that KHY is not receiving as much attention for this drama as her co-star, which is itself very sad to see as she is the true star of the show.

I'll just add a short comment on the depiction of disability, which I've yet to see portrayed as anything but worse than death in an Asian drama. Seeing Sol's independence while in a wheelchair, but being denied job opportunities because of inaccessibility which is no fault of her own, it might've been an opportunity to make some sort of statement by having Sol advocate for accessibility, especially since she ends up working at the place that initially rejected her. I was actually excited at the thought of a show featuring a disabled lead character, but alas the show was not up to that level & I decided to let this one go for now.

One of the co-writers of this show also wrote for True Beauty, a show I was far less impressed with. This show was quite entertaining overall, and with good performances. I've rated it higher than I might normally with this type of fluff piece, but only because it was nicely shot, had more than a few truly funny moments, and raised interesting questions about fate. If I had to compare, though, I'd say Legally Romance is a better show.

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My favorite romcom of all time, not just 2024

This has fluffy romance, comedy aplenty and a lot of heart. I can't believe that within 10 minutes into the drama, I was already crying with Im Sol. Kim Hye Yoon delivered such a great performance in the first episode that before it ended I was hooked.

The story is about Im Sol (Hye Yoon) who was about to give up on life after an accident. Because of the encouragement she got from an idol Ryu Sun Jae (Woon Seok), she decided to live. For more than 10 years, she supported Sun Jae as a fan and was very shocked when news came out that Sun Jae died from apparent suicide. A mystic occurrence brought her back in time when both she and Sun Jae were still in high school. Can she stop Sun Jae's death? Was it really a suicide?

Only 2 episodes are out but I am already enjoying this drama. In fact, the last few minutes of Episode 2 had me silently screaming with excitement. Scenes that may seem cringey on paper turned out lovely and sweet because of the music used and the chemistry between Hye Yoon and Woon Seok. And then there's also Geon Hee who's playing the second lead. He also looks good with Hye Yoon. But I'm still team Sun Jae. The scriptwriters so far made somewhat believable scenarios (yeah, I will also run/get scared when a person seems crazy). I am looking forward for the next episodes.

Edit:
I am now at episode 7 and this just keeps getting better so I'm changing my review score from 9.5 to 10. This deserves it for making me look forward to Mondays even though it's the start of my work week. Now I'm not just on the Sunjae-Sol ship but also on the Woo soek-Hye yoon ship too. These two are really lovely together.

Edit 2:
After completion, this has become my standard for a romcom and has become my favorite drama of all time. I would rate it more than 10 if I could. I love all the OSTs, they are used at the right timing throughout the drama even the BGMs. This also has the best pacing among all the dramas I've seen with the focus mostly on the leads. Its romance is satisfying and was not stingy at all with the kiss scenes unlike usual kdramas. Its comedy despite a few misses are ones that remain funny even after a few rewatches. Its logic as a time travel drama made sense and was not messy at all. I know I'll rewatch this just for the comfort it brings. There was a time in Ep13 that this drama broke my heart but immediately fixed it again in the next episode. Parallelism and easter eggs are spread throughout the entire drama which makes you want to rewatch. It shows you again and again that the leads are made for each other. I'm so glad that I chased this because I was able to discuss theories and ship the lead couple with fellow capellas (eclipse fandom) and subeoms (solseon fandom)

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“Run into your Unknown”

Yes, this is the best kdrama you will ever watch.

I don’t even know where to begin because this show has literally EVERYTHING! You want romance? They got it. Comedy? They got it. Drama? You best believe they got it. Fantasy, Mystery, and Thriller? Of course!


I’m writing this week before the show ends, hoping I can take my time to review everything I love about this show and why I think the show is a must-watch! The first thing that I should mention is that there is a familiarity when it comes to Lovely Runner from your favorite kdramas, such as Twinkling Watermelon, Strong Woman Do Bong Song, 20th Century Girl, Twenty-Five Twenty-One, and My Lovely Stranger. Yet, besides all of that, this show is very different. It’s nothing like the shows I mentioned. I don’t want to give much away since this is a spoiler-free review, but it’s safe to say there’s a lot of familiarity with the show, BUT there is also a lot of originality. The Twist and Turns… When I say this show is unpredictable, I genuinely mean it. When I tell you I did not expect a reveal so soon at the end of the 2nd episode, I knew that this show would continue blowing my expectations; I was not wrong. Every week, this show continued to surprise us in the best way possible. For a Romantic Comedy with Fantasy and thriller, the show thrives in everything! I have watched many dramas, and what feels like forever, it truly feels like you’re watching true love. What Imsol and Sunjae have feels and looks natural. When I watch each episode, I feel like I’m watching these two people fall in love repeatedly. It makes me all giddy inside as the two try desperately to hold on to each other. 

Speaking of Imsol and Sunjae, let's speak about the beautiful actors who portray them. Kim Hye-Yoon, THE WOMAN YOU ARE! I've actually been following this show since it was announced because of Hye-Yoon. I'm a big fan of her and happy to see her get the recognition she deserves since I believe she is one of the best actors I have ever seen (watch her in Sky Castle; there's no better example). Hye-Yoon always gives it her all and works endlessly to provide us with the best results. I mean, the fact I could tell which Imsol she was playing, I think, says it all. This girl has RANGE. Hye-Yoon plays Imsol with so much love, as someone once commented, "The person who loved Seonjae more than anyone else and understood Imsol more than anyone else was Kim Hye-yoon." Not to mention, this show would not have existed without her. She is the reason why we have this fantastic show to watch. For apparent reasons, I think a lot of the spotlight is more on Byeon Woo-Seok. Still, I hope Hye-Yoon doesn't get forgotten when this is all done and shines as much as him because she deserves it. 

Now Woo-Seok, I've been a fan of him since 20th Century Girl. I'd seen his work before the movie, and he always stood out to me with his acting; maybe his height helped a little, too. I genuinely appreciate Wook-Seok for bringing to life a character that feels fresh and exciting to watch. When I say, his portrayal of Sunjae being the GREENEST FLAG THERE IS, I'm not kidding. He indeed wears his heart on his sleeves, and with his facile expression, he is easy to read. Something to mention is that these two actors have to play teenagers, young adults, and adults, which is already impressive. The two perfectly play the awkward years and the maturing times. The two both play their character with love and innocence with a little of a rough side. 

As I currently listen to the music on repeat, yes, on repeat, because the soundtrack is that good. It evokes emotions that remind me of everything I love about this show. The young love that lasts through the years, the heartbreak, the joy, and the anticipation. It's hard to put everything I feel through words as I try to write, but I want to mention that I love every song dearly, and they share a core memory. A memory I hope to not forget.

So, in conclusion… yes, I highly recommend this show!!! Now go watch!!!

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